I argue that the world and everything in it is planned, existence is meaningful; the past is important; everything matters.
In this world everything is meaningful and exists for a reason.I state that in order for beauty to exist, there needs a contrast. Even ugliness has a meaning for its existence. The ugliness exists so that beauty can exist as well. Basically without something being ugly, people won't know that something else is beautiful. (page 132-133)"The nature of evil may be epitomized, therefore, in two simple but horrible and holy propositions: 'Things fade' and 'Alternatives exclude.' Such is His mystery: that beauty requires contrast, and that discord is fundamental to the creation of new intensities of feeling. Ultimate wisdom, I have come to perceive, lies in the perception that the solemnity and grandeur of the universe rise through the slow process of unification in which the diversities of existence are utilized, and nothing, nothing is lost."
I (Ork) believe that the evil in the world of two things: evil itself that causes things to perish, and one not being able to be anything else. The ultimate wisdom is that this evil prevents people from understanding the universe to be a place where nothing is lost or wasted. (continued from page 132, page 133, at the top) "The nature of evil may be epitomized, therefore, in two simple but horrible and holy propositions: 'Things fade' and 'Alternatives exclude.' Such is His mystery: that beauty requires contrast, and that discord is fundamental to the creation of new intensities of feeling. Ultimate wisdom, I have come to perceive, lies in the perception that the solemnity and grandeur of the universe rise through the slow process of unification in which the diversities of existence are utilized, and nothing, nothing is lost." The phrase 'ashes to ashes' is not true because the universe is made to be meaningful and things exist because nothing is lost. Things do not disappear or perish; it is thought to be that way because it is the evil that the dragon or Grendel believes in.
Existence is meaningful because of death. Time would destroy everything no matter how holy or evil.They are meaningful to each other, because if they basically define what each other is. If death is something meaningful, then existence would also be meaningful. Basically without having a life, there could not death. (Page 132)"O the ultimate evil in the temporal world is deeper than any specific evil, such as hatred or suffering, or death! The ultimate evil is that Time is perpetual perishing, and being actual involves elimination."
After Reading the Letter... Letter Reflection
After reading Grendel I was still a bit dazed and confused; I was not sure which position Gardner took, or if the book would be more optimistic or pessimistic compared to the poem Beowulf. However, the letter clarifies questions I had in mind. First, Gardner is not trying to promote one idea or the other, just that it depends on how the reader decides to think. He says "A book like Grendel (not that I claim it's a
masterpiece) takes experience and sophistication, which means that different readers will find in it different things." Thus, some may say that life really is meaningless taking the dragons point of view, or oppose to that idea, depending on the perspective of the reader. Since I took the role of 'Ork' I based my reading on Gardner talking about how life is meaningful. I was able to find some passages from his letter that supported my argument.
At the end of the second page, he says "There are basically two choices: either you behave as if there were a god and try to determine what's right, in other words you make up values, you dream up a future better than the present and try to create it; or else you accept the world as it seems to be and scoff at all values (dreams for the future) because according to what is true at this moment they're lies." Since I take a role of a priest and I believe in God, it will be helpful for me to use the first choice, that there is a god and you make up value and dreams for a brighter future. This brings significance to life, and life is worth living for the present and future by enhancing it.
At the end of page four and beginning of page five, Gardner specifically talks about the priest, "And another odd thing about the priest is that his thought echoes that of the first dragon--but with the same fundamental information, he finds a positive vision instead of a negative one. So the point is really this: when one works with art, one must think as much with one's emotions as with one's mind." The priest does have the fundamental ideas of the dragon, but not necessarily the same point of view as the dragon because the priest thinks in a more positive way. Gardner says that "It's better to be wrong, even foolish, than nihilistic." meaning that people, like the priest, should rather be even foolish for pursuing a significant life, rather than be nihilistic and reject religious and moral principles and think that life has no meaning to it.
One of the arguments I had was the two types of evil, and one of the students, David, refers to it. "David is dead right on this, though: I do
suggest that "man must have evil so that he may have good to balance." One can't hunt for good until one's noticed there's something wrong." So this supports one of my arguments that people have evil in them that makes them believe that the world may be not worth it, but with the good, it is true that life is worth living.
Reading the letter was very helpful for me, because I had no clue what my arguments would be for the trial since the Ork has very confusing lines that contradict some characters and in a way have same fundamental ideas as the Dragon. Thus, the letter provided me with what Gardner thought about the priest, and what he thought about how life was meaningful. In addition to that I was able to understand the philosophical meanings behind the story as well.
by. Deborah K.
I argue that the world and everything in it is planned, existence is meaningful; the past is important; everything matters.
In this world everything is meaningful and exists for a reason.I state that in order for beauty to exist, there needs a contrast. Even ugliness has a meaning for its existence. The ugliness exists so that beauty can exist as well. Basically without something being ugly, people won't know that something else is beautiful. (page 132-133)"The nature of evil may be epitomized, therefore, in two simple but horrible and holy propositions: 'Things fade' and 'Alternatives exclude.' Such is His mystery: that beauty requires contrast, and that discord is fundamental to the creation of new intensities of feeling. Ultimate wisdom, I have come to perceive, lies in the perception that the solemnity and grandeur of the universe rise through the slow process of unification in which the diversities of existence are utilized, and nothing, nothing is lost."
I (Ork) believe that the evil in the world of two things: evil itself that causes things to perish, and one not being able to be anything else. The ultimate wisdom is that this evil prevents people from understanding the universe to be a place where nothing is lost or wasted.
(continued from page 132, page 133, at the top) "The nature of evil may be epitomized, therefore, in two simple but horrible and holy propositions: 'Things fade' and 'Alternatives exclude.' Such is His mystery: that beauty requires contrast, and that discord is fundamental to the creation of new intensities of feeling. Ultimate wisdom, I have come to perceive, lies in the perception that the solemnity and grandeur of the universe rise through the slow process of unification in which the diversities of existence are utilized, and nothing, nothing is lost." The phrase 'ashes to ashes' is not true because the universe is made to be meaningful and things exist because nothing is lost. Things do not disappear or perish; it is thought to be that way because it is the evil that the dragon or Grendel believes in.
Existence is meaningful because of death. Time would destroy everything no matter how holy or evil.They are meaningful to each other, because if they basically define what each other is. If death is something meaningful, then existence would also be meaningful. Basically without having a life, there could not death. (Page 132)"O the ultimate evil in the temporal world is deeper than any specific evil, such as hatred or suffering, or death! The ultimate evil is that Time is perpetual perishing, and being actual involves elimination."
After Reading the Letter... Letter Reflection
After reading Grendel I was still a bit dazed and confused; I was not sure which position Gardner took, or if the book would be more optimistic or pessimistic compared to the poem Beowulf. However, the letter clarifies questions I had in mind. First, Gardner is not trying to promote one idea or the other, just that it depends on how the reader decides to think. He says "A book like Grendel (not that I claim it's a
masterpiece) takes experience and sophistication, which means that different readers will find in it different things." Thus, some may say that life really is meaningless taking the dragons point of view, or oppose to that idea, depending on the perspective of the reader. Since I took the role of 'Ork' I based my reading on Gardner talking about how life is meaningful. I was able to find some passages from his letter that supported my argument.
At the end of the second page, he says "There are basically two choices: either you behave as if there were a god and try to determine what's right, in other words you make up values, you dream up a future better than the present and try to create it; or else you accept the world as it seems to be and scoff at all values (dreams for the future) because according to what is true at this moment they're lies." Since I take a role of a priest and I believe in God, it will be helpful for me to use the first choice, that there is a god and you make up value and dreams for a brighter future. This brings significance to life, and life is worth living for the present and future by enhancing it.
At the end of page four and beginning of page five, Gardner specifically talks about the priest, "And another odd thing about the priest is that his thought echoes that of the first dragon--but with the same fundamental information, he finds a positive vision instead of a negative one. So the point is really this: when one works with art, one must think as much with one's emotions as with one's mind." The priest does have the fundamental ideas of the dragon, but not necessarily the same point of view as the dragon because the priest thinks in a more positive way. Gardner says that "It's better to be wrong, even foolish, than nihilistic." meaning that people, like the priest, should rather be even foolish for pursuing a significant life, rather than be nihilistic and reject religious and moral principles and think that life has no meaning to it.
One of the arguments I had was the two types of evil, and one of the students, David, refers to it. "David is dead right on this, though: I do
suggest that "man must have evil so that he may have good to balance." One can't hunt for good until one's noticed there's something wrong." So this supports one of my arguments that people have evil in them that makes them believe that the world may be not worth it, but with the good, it is true that life is worth living.
Reading the letter was very helpful for me, because I had no clue what my arguments would be for the trial since the Ork has very confusing lines that contradict some characters and in a way have same fundamental ideas as the Dragon. Thus, the letter provided me with what Gardner thought about the priest, and what he thought about how life was meaningful. In addition to that I was able to understand the philosophical meanings behind the story as well.